As the use of the Internet is increasingly intrinsic to people's daily activities, more personal electronic devices are interconnected. Such devices include, for example, phones, tablets, personal computers, cameras, e-book readers, TVs, gaming devices, automobiles, and even home appliances (e.g., thermostats, refrigerators, bathroom scales, etc.). Personal electronic devices often include a variety of sensors that may provide information regarding device location, motion, and/or other activities.
While connected devices offer many benefits, personal information collected by such devices and/or their constituent sensors may introduce certain privacy concerns. For example, access to and/or distribution of personal information related to a user by unauthorized parties may be damaging to the user. Accordingly, a user may wish to have a certain amount of control over the collection, use, management, and/or distribution of their personal information.
Systems and methods disclosed herein can facilitate secure collection, use, management, and/or distribution of personal information relating to a user. In some embodiments, personal information relating to a user may be included in a personal ontology graph or other data structure. The personal ontology graph may include, without limitation, information volunteered by a user (e.g., declared interests), information collected by monitoring a user's activities in connection with an associated device, and/or various inferred information (e.g., inferred interests) relating to the user. In certain embodiments, the personal ontology graph may be maintained on a user's device. In further embodiments, the personal ontology graph may alternatively, or in additions, be maintained by a trusted service. The privacy of information included in the personal ontology graph may be maintained in a variety of ways including, for example, using a personal agent operating locally on the user's device and/or on a trusted remote service.
In further embodiments, systems and methods disclosed herein may facilitate efficient targeting of information (e.g., advertisements, coupons, offers, content of interest, etc.) to a user based at least in part on personal information related to the user. Such personal information may be used to ensure information is delivered to a user that is well matched to the user's interests. For example, personal information provided by a user and/or generated based on a user's activities may be utilized to effectively match advertisements to the interests of the user. In certain embodiments, such personal information may be included in a personal ontology graph maintained, for example, by a personal agent and/or other trusted service. Utilizing personal information included in the personal ontology graph may allow the device, a content provider or distributor, and/or a trusted third party to target advertisements to the user matched to the users interests reflected in the associated personal ontology graph.